Stealthy, I'll answer your questions and reply to some of your comments.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Question - Do you think my coworker, after shooting the compound we set up and consistantly hitting 4&quot; groups at 20 yards after only two days of shooting ... do you agree with him hunting over Thanksgiving with it and why ? <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

From what you indicated in the initial post and the fact that he has only been shooting 2 days, absolutely not. There is a lot more to bowhunting (which someone with as many years under their belt as you would agree to I'm sure) than simply hitting a spot with an arrow. He needs to be able to hit that spot from 40 yards consistently and practice in the different standing, sitting, contorted positions he will potentially face while hunting. If he, or anyone else for that matter, is not doing that prior to entering the woods, he is not being fair to the game he is after.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Archery skills ... like being able to pick up a compound and never having shot one and hitting a 4&quot; group, that kind of skill ? I will agree that you hold a crossbow like a gun, but the mechnical release of the string and the way the arrow is propelled is that of a bow as defined. But you do have a point. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

I don't consider someone who can hit a spot on a target at 20 yards to be skilled in archery. I could do that in 5th grade gym class with a plastic recurve (albeit not well) and I would not have considered myself a skilled archer at that time. With a compound I consider a skilled archer to be consistent at the greater distances (40 yards and above) making the 20 yard shot a chip shot. With traditional gear there is different criteria due to the nature of the gear.

As far as the rest of your post goes, I don't think anyone that has shot both traditional gear next to modern compounds will argue that traditional gear offers a unique set of challenges that take time and effort to master. I applaud you for taking up the challenge. Overall, I don't think you are a bad guy I just hope that you don't dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back, because it will be mighty hard to shoot any archery gear if you do. Well, except maybe a crossbow.<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>